Why So Many Lost "Biggest Bucks"???

[tradorion]

i will say again- i do not think the issues is this competition AT ALL...

i think it is personal choice and as you noted QH11 sometimes folks get a bit antsy- and NOPE you just cannot fudge with a bow like you can with a gun.

[Catdaddy]

The biggest buck(120-130 class) I ever had the chance on walked right by me at 25 yds. I grunted after he passed and he came back to 22 yds and made a scrape facing away form me. I watched him for 6-8 minutes and never picked up the bow. It was a brand new stand/setup and I didn't know the distance. I thought it was beyond my capabilities. When he left the second time I grunted him back to 30 yds....then watched him walk away not knowing I was in the world. I checked the distances after I got down and was pissed.


A few days later he jumped into the highway and caused a 3 car wreck.

[BigBrother]

Aight peckerheads.

My word "competition" did not apply to only this'un.

But, the allure of a photo-op, bragging rights, or whatever floats your boat... with a bow kilt deer, (especially a big'un) is strong...and will cause you to release the shaft before it is right.

Having said that, I can say that it would be crossing my mind when I get a deer in gigging range...because I havent yet.

[huntinjerk]

How could you possibly lose one if you "Throw an axe through him".LOL!
You have to have restraint. If its not right, don't shoot.
That is all.

[Sportin' Woodies]

**this aint directed at anyone.**
my problem with alot of bowhunters is that smug attitude that attaches to their "hunting demeanor".
and every year, there are people on here losing huge deer because they choose to "elevate" themselves over gun hunting.
if you want a job done right all the time, choose the right tool or be prepared to face the inevitable knot in your stomach that is losing a good deer, or any deer.

i respect anyone that challenges themselves, but, remember, the indians lost.

[ziggy]

if you want a job done right all the time, choose the right tool or be prepared to face the inevitable knot in your stomach that is losing a good deer, or any deer.

i respect anyone that challenges themselves, but, remember, the indians lost.

truth.

[dirtnap]

That is very accurate SW and I like to bowhunt.

[BRR]

I agree with sportin. On another note I respect anyone who chooses to bow hunt but if it isn't working know when to quit. I think i may quit because i just lost a doe this season. I know one deer means just as much as another but all i can think is what if that had been the big one instead of a doe. As good as it feels to get one with the bow it just seems to take it all joy i ever got from bow hunting away the second one has been lost. Also I feel it should be a quick death. Bow kills come about by bleeding to death which allows small room for error. If it means waiting for rifle season i can wait.

The few i have lost only one was found later and is what inspired my previous post if i could find it later why didn't i find it when i shot it.

[Sportin' Woodies]

i'll go ahead and chime in before the bow hunters do.
any tool can be misused. it just seems to me the only ethical problems involved with rifle hunting comes from slob hunters, or dumbasses, or neophytes.
these guys on here losing deer with bows are none of the above.

[tradorion]

we can argue all day the efficiency of a bow versus a gunn.... a bow will lose in a "one versus the other" setting but that is far from allowing that a bow is not capable of killing plenty quick clean and efficiently... it most definitely is

i have too many good drugs in me right now to cleanly follow my thought process...

but simply put the failing in all of these threads is not the weapon but rather the shooter and the choices he makes.

a number of years ago a newby on a club i know of took his new high-powered rifle and shot at a deer. No score according to him. Another day- same stand- shoot and no score. Finally on his 3rd deer he scores.... and shortly thereafter discovered 2 other dead dead down range from his stand.... it was truly a shock to his mental state that a gunshot deer did not die RIGHT THERE.

Now we could argue all day that his hunt club buddies were not worth a damn b/c they didn't help him out looking for the other deer or for his stupidity in not knowing that all gun-shot deer don't fall down at point of impact.

The point is that the bow is capable of killing deer plenty well if the shooter does their part.

Does a gun allow more leeway? YESSIR IT DOES- but i am not hunting for "leeway" i am hunting for what draws me to the woods and a bow does it for me better than a gun.

Now- were my slump to extend past not getting good shots into botching them and losing animals would i be willing to set the bow aside? HELL YES- i owe it to the animals i hunt to kill them quick clean and effective. (edited portion AND TO RECOVER THEM TOO)

[tradorion]

actually a number of the people having issue are- by definition- neophytes to bow hunting...

and don't start me on the definiton of a "slob hunter" as i see a large number of clean cut otherwise decent folks toting guns (and bows) that are poor representatives of the hunting world

[Sportin' Woodies]

that's why i included *dumbass* in my problem riflehunter category

[tradorion]

i know some of them!! wish there was an enforcement statute on that one LOL

[SCSwitchback]

Seeing as how this thread appears to be in respone to my post about a lost deer, I'd like to address this issue as well. Trad....I agree with the majority of what you've said in here. As a bowhunter, one should try to be extremely picky about which shots to take and which to pass. This is something I've gotten much better about as I've gotten older. I think the same applies to most hunters....as we get older, and in turn kill more deer with the bow, we're able to have more self control. When I started bowhunting at age 14, I took some risky shots that I'd never take today.

Concerning the deer I made my thread about, I felt like it was as good a shot as I'd ever get. The deer was 10 yards, broadside (very very slightly quartering to me), and I could see my pin and the deer. I had a little trouble finding the "spot" when I first drew as my eyes took a second to readjust and focus on the pin. Once settled, I could clearly see the deers front leg and was 100% confident that when I released the arrow the deer would run his 50 and pile up. Obviously, that's not the case.

In hindsight, I believe I held a little too high on the deer. I practice at this range ( 10 and in) frequently, especially for this particular stand) and I'm a little high at that range......I should have held on his heart. Also, this deer being the biggest I've ever shot w/ a bow had no affect on my judgement. I would have shot the doe he was chasing if she hadn't been panting.

I guess I'm typing all this to show that not all lost deer are caused by an error in ethical judgement. Sometimes, it's just a mistake.

[SCLAND&TIMBER]

i respect anyone that challenges themselves, but, remember, the indians lost.

I got no dog in this fight but I like that statement

This has nothing to do with bowhunting but I like the pic

Carry on..

[sprigdog]

Marissa rules!! thank you for that.

SW nailed it. I've asked a couple times. Is it harder to kill a deer at 18 yds with a rifle or bow?

No one has answered me. I know the answer.

I've also stated numerous times that i've never even pulled an arrow back and let fly at a target....i will never feel the need to do so.

PS: I've always said it's like my B-day when i check the mail and the Victoria Secrets catalog is waiting for me, but its like christmas when you get that and a wildfowl mag on the same day.

[GBelly]

there are more people bow hunting today than ever before...cept the injuns.

more people communicating via intertweb....thanks al gore.

put those two together and what ya get is more people talking and hearing about more opportunites for deer to be lost due to an arrow.

pretty simple.

[tradorion]

SPRIG- is it EASIER to kill one at 18yds with a rifle?? YES and that is why i do not choose to hunt with a rifle so often...

As a buddy once commented "A deer steps out at 50yds with my rifle and THE HUNT is over... when he steps out at 50yds with my bow IT HAS JUST BEGUN>"

That simple mental and physological variation to a deer at 20yds when i have a bow in my hands versus a powder burning device makes allllllll the difference in the world.

[sprigdog]

SPRIG- is it EASIER to kill one at 18yds with a rifle?? YES and that is why i do not choose to hunt with a rifle so often...
.

is it easier? I just dont understand the whole "bow hunting" challenge.

If you want to get close...fine. Why not get close and make sure the job is done? I just dont understand the primitive weapon thing during a rifle opener. If you get a deer to 18yds, mission accomplished, right? You fooled the critter.

Why not just knock it over with a .300mag at 18yds vice hearing all these "lost" stories. You can afford to be inches off at 3000fps.

The animal deserves it.

I have killed 7 elk in my life, 2 had broadheads in them i found while skinning. If i had a quarter for everytime a buddy/aquaintance told me they got an arrow in an elk, but "lost the trail"...i'd have at least $3.75.

I'm not in any way anti-stick....it just aint my thing.

[Carolina Counsel]

I bow hunt for the excitement and challenge. Merely having a deer at 20 yards pumps me up more than shooting one at 200. Some people don't have the patience and good sense to bow hunt. Some people care more about the kill than the experience. Some people get their rocks off with a gun. Great. I like guns, too, and if a particular set won't work for the bow, I might pick up a gun. Maybe. But to suggest that a bow in the right hands is not as lethal as a rifle is just wrong. Is the margin for error less? Yes. That's why you have to be patient and take the right shot. As for getting close to the deer, bow hunting is ever more than that. The hardest part of killing a deer with a bow is getting the timing right- stand, draw, release. That's why I think crossbows during archery season is bullshit, but that's an argument for another day.
One more thing, as for losing deer, I think most people (bow and rifle hunters) that lose deer are not skilled at blood trailing and/or trailing without blood. People don't initially see blood, or think they lose the trail, and then start broadcast searching. I would submit that if folks would just stick their face to the ground and pick everything apart, rather than abandoning their search for blood (and just starting to look for the deer), they would find their deer. It's hard work, and sometimes it is frustrating as hell, and yes sometimes the deer won't continue to bleed, but it's worth slowing down and doing it right. I believe that a lot of these "lost" deer would be found that night.